In February 1967, my sales representative and I flew to Billings, Montana over the Grand Tetons Range of the Rockies. I saw from the window snow cover below outlining bizarre shadows formed by the high mountains. Small villages, motorways and animal tracks proved there was life below.

We finished our business the next day in Riverton, WY and learned that the airlines cancelled all flights and did not know when they would resume. This caused a serious problem for us, because we had a meeting two days later in L.A.

Reluctantly, we rented an automobile to drive over the southwestern Rocky Mountain Pass to Salt Lake City, Utah to catch a flight to Los Angeles. Radio bulletins about weather conditions sounded optimistic, but snow often closed the pass at the last moment, so it was necessary to drive the 150 miles to the entrance of the highway to confirm that it was open.

The mountains, some four to seven thousand feet high, silenced our radio, however a sign flashed that the road was open and cautioned about danger from snow and poor visibility. We bought food and gas and warily entered the route across the Rockies. Warning signs every few miles and the sun setting behind the mountains heightened our apprehension.

The curves on the highway as it climbed toward the summit caused a bewildering mix of light and darkness. Sometimes the sun broke through the mountain opening then quickly hid from view. The wind and snow slowed us to 10 or 15 miles an hour. The sun blocked by the mountains meant only our headlights illuminated the road. We followed it cautiously because snow had narrowed the driving lane and wind gusts rattled the car. From the passenger side, I saw the mountains fall off abruptly into deep abysses adding to my fear. There was no radio reception just static, so we talked quietly to each other watching the snowfall worsen.

Then a huge form appeared on the highway at the end of a long curve. There the biggest snowplow we ever saw, higher than a one-story building, with enourmous headlights, lit up the road, railings and parts of the mountains. Alone on the highway, we got close behind it for light and safety until it led us up throug the Pass.

Happily, on the western side the sun was shining. The view of Salt Lake City, nestled far down in a lush valley, made it easy to understand why the founders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose this location for their home.

Our perilous journey across the Rockies ended safely, and we got to the meeing on time.

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